Phyllanthus emblica L. (V. Nelli) is an important constituent of indigenous medicine and a commercially important fresh fruit species. The diversity of the P. emblica germplasm in Sri Lanka has not been studied in detail according to our knowledge. Therefore, the present study was conducted to characterize the drupes of P. emblica gremplasm in Sri Lanka.A total of 475 P. emblica drupes harvested from 66 trees in selected areas of Anuradhapura, Kandy and Kurunegala districts of Sri Lanka. For each drupe, seven morphometric data; drupe height, width, weigh, mesocarp thickness, stone width, height and weight were measured. Also 61 drupes were used for the quantitative analysis of the epicarp colour of drupes using a colourimeter. An organoleptic property; bitterness was analysed in relation to drupe size by having a taste panel of independent human subjects. The data were analysed using parametric and non parametric statistical methods.The cluster analysis based on drupe size traits clearly characterized the P. emblica germplasm in to four clusters. The means of drupe weight (Cluster 1; 5.98 g, Cluster 2; 3.59 g, Cluster 3; 2.13 g, Cluster 4; 14.21 g) were significantly different (P<0.05) among the four clusters. There were significant differences in colour metrics between small and large drupe groups. The results indicated that the smaller drupes (chroma; 21.64, hue angle; -10.86) are lighter, yellowish, sharper and less colourful (i.e. dull) than that of the larger drupes (chroma; 12.66, hue angle; -21.11). The sensory data analysis revealed that generally smaller drupes are bitterer (57% of drupes awfully bitter) in contrast to larger drupes (47% of the drupes mildly bitter) but there is no guarantee that small drupes are always bitter. The Crarmer's V coefficient (0.47) indicated that the association between drupe size and the bitterness has no perfect linear relationship (Crarmer's V coefficient is 1.00 for such a linear perfect relationship). The drupe traits were not different with respect to their tree locations or the climate and the environmental factors contributed less than other factors such as genetics. The P. emblica germplasm has a higher diversity in Sri Lanka and should be conserved in order to maintain the genetic stochasticity. It sets the foundation to implement conservation measures and this diversity structure can be further verified by molecular portrayal which is currently undertaken by our research group. The proposed characterization can be used as a guideline to define a working level core-collection that will be useful in taking decisions for germplasm conservation and in planning crop improvement programs of P. emblica.

Phyllanthus emblica L. is a commercially important fruit species and its plant parts are indispensable in indigenous herbal medicine. A total of 475 P. emblica drupes harvested from 66 trees in Anuradhapura, Kandy and Kurunegala districts of Sri Lanka were used for characterizing morphological features. For each drupe, seven morphometric data (height, width and weight of drupes, mesocarp thickness, width, height and weight of stones) were measured. Sixty one drupes were used for the quantitative analysis of the epicarp color of drupes. Bitterness, an organoleptic property was analyzed in relation to drupe size by using a taste panel of independent human subjects. The stone traits showed a lower correlation with other drupe traits suggesting that drupe and stone traits may be governed by two separate sets of genes. The cluster analysis based on drupe size traits characterized the P. emblica germplasm into four clusters. Number of cells in the mesocarp of smaller and larger fruits was more or less the same but the cell size was larger in larger fruits (p<0.05). There were significant differences in quantitative color metrics between small and large drupe groups. Thus, P. emblica gremplasm has a significantly higher morphological diversity in Sri Lanka but the drupe traits did not vary with respect to their locations or the climate.

Phyllanthus emblica L. is an important constituent of Ayurvedic medicine and a fresh fruit species in the market in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it has a high potential to be established as a commercial fruit crop. The seeds of P. emblica are semi orthodox and exhibit a long dormancy period hindering the natural sexual propagation. Therefore, it still remains as an underutilized fruit crop in Sri Lanka due to its lack of quality planting material and poor propagation techniques. Long term dormancy also causes a big challenge in germinating seeds to create populations in breeding programs. In order to promote P. emblica from its underutilized status, what seems most feasible is to develop a method to break up the seed dormancy artificially. In order to do so, the methods of breaking the dormancy of P. emblica seeds have to be studied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify a method to break up the seed dormancy of P. emblica. The seeds were extracted from 21 trees belonging to three different districts in Sri Lanka. The selected viable seeds were subjected to four different pre treatments: none treated seeds (i.e. control), seeds scarified, seeds scarified and treated with 1% gibberellin and seed coat removed and followed by seeds treated with 1% gibberellin. From the four treatments, seed dormancy was overturned with a germination percentage of 43% by the seed pre treatment where the seeds were scarified and treated with 1% gibberellin and no other pre treatment methods were successful in breaking the dormancy. This suggests that the natural germination potential of P. emblica seeds is very low and it can be overridden by seed scarification and gibberellin pre treatment.